Dulce Et Decorum , Chapter 15
by Belen09
Summary: Stand alone story comprising chapter fifteen - When the Seleya is discovered adrift in the Expanse - Archer takes T'Pol, Reed, and Corporal Hawkins to investigate and possible rescue the crew. AU


D and D chapter 15 – 'Impulse'

The Enterprise while traveling in the Delphic Expanse, receives an automated distress call from a Vulcan ship; Archer decides to investigate, and perhaps rescue them with the help of T'Pol, Reed and Corporal Hawkins . . .

OOOOO

A.N. This episode is presented as a 'stand-alone' story, as it is very nearly (excepting a minor, but important tale about the collecting of Trellium D) self-contained. It is also an episode I very much liked. Since this is about how Malcolm Reed and Frank Hawkins experienced the Expanse, the story of the collecting of the Trellium D is not told. At least not first hand . . . POV alternates between Reed and Hawkins. AU in that I added 'stuff' . . .

OOOOO

On Enterprise -

Corporal Frank Hawkins slept uneasily in his bunk even though his roommate was on guard duty; he should have been able to sleep at least six hours without the occasional snoring noises coming from Chang. He knew exactly what the problem was, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. The MACO had been off-duty when the situation with the alien woman happened – and by the time he had grabbed his gun and kit the damage had been done – Specialist Lawson was dead and one other MACO, plus two of the Starfleet security were badly injured. It didn't make for a restful night's sleep.

At least he was attempting to rest. He was on Alpha shift, and would be up and ready for his assignment from Major Hayes in a few hours. Lately he'd been assigned to the shuttle bay to watch over the two craft held there – not exactly a choice assignment as very few distractions made the duty palatable. The usual parameters applied – most of one's duty consisted of waiting and watching, alert for the unusual and very likely dangerous. It is difficult to maintain constant vigilance without some distraction, even as minor as watching people walking down a corridor.

Hawkins didn't even have that. He literally would stand in the control room, which gave him an excellent view of the bay below and be watchful of any change occurring in that area. Four times during the shift he would enter the bay itself and closely examine the vehicles themselves. Three times during his shift he would be 'relieved' by a roving MACO (lately Corporal Perez), for short periods of time. Frank would generally go to the Mess Hall at least twice and get some of the coffee that Chef kept there on a constant basis. And a trip to 'the head' would be needed after all that . . . everything lately was so predictable . . .

And thus it was that Corporal Hawkins was 'on duty' in the control room of the shuttle bay, when an automated distress call was received by the Enterprise . . .

OOOOO

In theory, Malcolm Reed, lieutenant – security/armory chief – worked the Beta shift; in actuality he was known to be working all hours – though it could be reliably depended on that he would be at his post whether on the bridge or in the armory during his assigned shift. This particular night he had gone to bed only an hour late, after writing a letter to his sister Madeline. While he knew that it could not be sent – the distance was prohibitive not to mention the security concerns – he had been thinking regarding a family matter and wished, in the event that he was unable to speak with her directly, that she know his opinion. Oft times Madeline had 'their mother's ear', whereas he felt awkward in her presence. Reed was hard pressed to even remember a conversation of a 'private matter' with his mum – what he did recall was a conversation about something Madeline had done.

Malcolm had tried to gently enforce the idea that both Madeline and he were adults, and while one might have an opinion about behavior, they were in fact fully grown and responsible human beings – God knows the idea of his mother complaining to him about someone else's behavior was strange enough – but she then stated 'both of you will always be my children' . . . a position and statement that had no real rebuttal.

He'd had an earlier discussion with his sister; it was only later that the thought that maybe his mother or father had 'listened in' on the conversation. Either one of them was perfectly capable of being duplicitous – ethics were not a strong motivator in his family. Expediency was all; that and a strong bend toward the monetary end. If something actually cost money you could be assured that only goods and services deemed necessary by his parents would get priority.

(Malcolm keenly remembered a tutor he needed – who taught him by old-fashioned methods – and got him adapted to a more modern way of learning. He knew that he desperately needed the help, but the experience was not aided by his father saying that if the tutor actually cost MONEY, that Malcolm could not continue, as it was surely 'a poor attitude and weak studying habits' that led to his bad grades(which actually weren't that bad, but they weren't top of the class.) He then carefully avoided discussions of finances with the tutor, as it was easier to handle her questions than his father's ire.)

Thus it was that he had fallen asleep with both the concerns of the relationship with Madeline and his family – as well as those of the current mission – lurking in his subconscious. It didn't make for a restful 'night's sleep.' Of course, the current mission took center stage – the entire situation with the 'slave concubine and the appalling procurer/pimp' made him extremely anxious.

Absolutely almost everything went wrong, terribly wrong during that fiasco and the so-called 'rescue' of that alien woman. Whatever modicum of good sense that he thought Archer might have acquired during the time in the Expanse was blown away in if not lust then in 'good do-isum' – a term that Reed made up denoting the wish for everything to have a 'happy' outcome, and for no harm to come to anyone. Malcolm expected professional conduct, if not expertise from his fellow officers. (The other two ranking officers – Tucker and T'Pol – while exhibiting their own faults – Tucker being a diehard technology 'geek/wonk' and T'Pol being 'Vulcan' with all that meant – didn't approach Archer's level of unreliable conduct.)

He'd certainly seen and experienced first-hand Jonathan Archer's range of moods. Vengeful Archer was particularly worrisome as the man wasn't afraid either metaphorically, or in actual practice to 'push his weight around.' Allowing oneself the 'pleasure' of making someone 'pay' for bad conduct led to terrible results. While Malcolm wasn't religious he did believe in the adage of it being of little worth to gain 'the world', if one should lose 'their soul'. He suspected that even if they were successful in the mission – unfortunately the goal of which seemed to keep shifting – this would not be a 'time to remember' . . . Sleep did not come easy, and the dreams he did have were not pleasant.

Malcolm had been 'reliving' a stressful mission that he had participated in as an agent of Section 31, when the alarm sounded and he woke up – not very refreshed. It took him a couple of minutes to become alert enough to realize that he was in his cabin and not attempting to corral a target. 'That wasn't very restful,' he thought ruefully, and he hit the message button on his communicator that was on the small shelf next to his mattress. (He'd adapted the furniture by putting a 'lip' around the thing as he was prone to knock anything off the shelf when first waking up. Malcolm had been affected by 'sleepwalking' ever since he was young – able to move whilst semi-wake had both endangered and saved his life a number of times. Opening windows while dreaming – not so good; sensing that someone is 'out to get you' – good.)

"Reed here," he managed to say, more or less clearly. Hoshi Sato was on the other end, and she explained that a Vulcan ship – the Seleya – had been located, and that they had been sending out an automated distress signal, and that he was needed to accompany Captain Archer and sub-Commander T'Pol as they used the shuttle pod to assess the damage. "I'll be there shortly," Malcolm replied. While he was still tired, the prospect of helping – of getting people safe was invigorating. The security chief had a ten-minute drill for dressing for a mission which involved making sure that he was fully-equipped; it wouldn't do to be lacking something vital 'just in case'. (It was always best to think these kind of situations 'out', when one was rested – not in the 'spur of the moment'.)

He entered the shuttle bay just as the captain and T'Pol were boarding the small craft; Corporal Hawkins had apparently been tasked to accompany the group. The interior of a shuttle pod was designed to hold six people comfortably, so that four people were not overwhelming. Malcolm sat to Archer's right as the man had decided to pilot the shuttle himself. (The captain was an experienced pilot, having 'earned his wings' in the specialty of 'helmsman' early in his career at Starfleet. While Reed knew that he himself was adequate – You didn't escape Stuart Reed's tutelage on the matter, water currents being harder to navigate than space – Jonathan Archer loved the 'art' of precisely guiding a vehicle, vessel, what have you, to a location. Whilst Malcolm found order in the universe delivering destruction on a target, the captain loved to move a vessel period . . . the difference was not profound, but it was telling.)

The Vulcan ship was stranded almost 2,000K inside the asteroid field, having apparently entered to retrieve quantities of Trellium, that elusive substance that was so useful in the Expanse. (Malcolm also thought it was a major source of trouble, being so valuable as to make slavery and crime profitable; there had to be some way to either 'free up' its production or else strictly control its distribution. Matters as they stood were untenable at best.)

T'Pol sat on the left side of the shuttle and Hawkins was in the back on Malcolm's side of the vessel. Almost immediately they entered the chaotic, crowded, writhing mass of the asteroid field. Malcolm had never seen such a sight. Huge bodies of rock crashed and bounced off one another, seemingly affected by some unknown force. He wondered if it would be possible to blast a path through the maelstrom and concluded that any ship forced into this mess was probably doomed. T'Pol had spent the short period of time before they entered to explain how she knew the ship in question. (It was apparent that Archer hadn't read the entirety of T'Pol's service record since he was surprised at her information. None of this was new to Malcolm; a good officer knew of whom he served with, and he would have been a poor Section 31 operative had he not known 'who' T'Pol of Vulcan was . . . as to the captain's lack of knowledge . . . less comment the better.)

His private thoughts were interrupted by the crashing asteroids hurling themselves about, helter-skelter, in a manner so unpredictable as to make him hope on a 'gut' level that Archer better be a bloody good helmsman . . . Malcolm knew that he could tell the captain about threats but if he didn't react quickly enough . . .

OOOOO

Frank Hawkins sat in the back of the small craft, wondering if today was going to be 'it' – the day when 'the luck' that supposedly everyone said he was blessed with – would run out. He was a capable, experienced MACO . . . he wouldn't have been here if he wasn't. Corporal Hawkins was one of the best, which didn't count for shit when he was just cargo. Cargo sitting at the rear of a tiny tin can, which could be flattened, crushed by one of those fucking, big rocks that were floating, no . . . exploding! . . . around out there . . . a useless waste if he got killed.

Hawkins had thought when they entered this deathtrap that Reed or maybe the Vulcan woman T'Pol might be piloting it. He was startled to see Captain Archer take the center seat, though it made sense in a way – even Major Hayes had times when he insisted that he would perform a job function that others lower in rank could do as well. Figured that it had something to do with ego, though he trusted the major to know when someone was best at something. Frank didn't have that degree of trust in Jonathan Archer. However, since neither Reed nor T'Pol were objecting to the man sitting in the center seat, the MACO did trust that those officers, who had worked with the captain and knew what he was capable of.

It looked like Archer was a damn good pilot, not hesitating to put the shuttle through its paces. Hawkins listened to the Vulcan tell how she had served aboard the ship they were going to and knew it . . . well that was good . . . suddenly everyone's attention was drawn to a very big asteroid heading straight for the little craft. Archer barely managed to avoid them being crushed – and the huge rock flung past them just inches from the window next to where he was sitting. He stared at the giant piece of death as it flung by, and realized that Reed was looking out the same window. Hawkins knew at that moment that Lieutenant Reed – usually unflappable and professional – was just as scared of being crushed as he was.

OOOOO

Malcolm looked at the expression on Corporal Hawkins face and knew that the sudden wrenching feeling he felt was not just isolated to him, but also shared by the experienced soldier behind him. For just an instant, he was back – physically remembering – the day when Madeline and he were almost crushed whilst their drunken father was piloting a skiff out past a buoy ignoring proper channels for ships passing. It was sheer good luck that their small craft had merely glanced off the hull of the larger vessel, as they careened through the ocean. Malcolm had asked his sister once about 'the incident' – she didn't remember it; whatever the reason – he did – flattening himself against the deck, Malcolm was sure that his last moments would be painful, and that somehow he would be blamed . . .

All this flashed in an instant through his memory as he watched the asteroid rush past the window, seeing the stark fear in Hawkins face. It wasn't the time to discuss their shared reaction – this 'rescue' hadn't even begun properly, and already Malcolm felt the trickle of sweat on his brow. He turned back to the front of the shuttle, watching for the stricken Vulcan vessel. He didn't have long to wait. A great bronze-colored spaceship came into view – equivalent to three or four times the bulk of the Enterprise – and yet elegant in a way that made that part of his naval heritage 'rejoice' – for this was clearly a work of craftsmanship – not just an engine tacked to a hull.

At the same time though, Malcolm saw how damaged the vessel was – several of the decks had decompressed with obvious structural damage, and he wondered if anything could be done to salvage her. Tact would surely be needed to discuss the situation, if any of the crew were still alive to aid. When Hawkins asked about life-support, Reed answered immediately – it wasn't a restricted topic; everyone needed the information available. Captain Archer guided the shuttle to one of the remaining, undamaged docking berths. They exited into the starboard of the ship; the main power was non-operational so that Malcolm had to physically push the access panel open allowing the group to enter the ship.

The lieutenant crawled up on to the deck, followed by the captain, T'Pol, and finally Hawkins. It was evident that life aboard was at best tenuous – minimal lighting, emergency bulkheads must have activated to maintain breathable environment, parts of the interior beams falling and having fallen about the corridors. Given that the Vulcans were even more fastidious than the most obsessive human (Malcolm had 'visions' of a Vulcan shipmaster requiring his crew to 'holystone' the deck every day), the state of this vessel was appalling. Malcolm adjusted his weapon so that the strap fit properly on his shoulder; 'machine gun' sized, phase rifle – it delivered a telling 'punch' either on the lowest setting – stun – or a strong and fatal blow on 'kill'. As this was a rescue mission, he had the rifle set on 'stun'.

The group came to an area adjacent to an outer bulkhead – one could see that some kind of material was being applied and that the work had stopped abruptly. A scan was made of the substance; a highly concentrated mixture of Trellium so useful to counter the effects of the anomalies had been laid down. For whatever reason, the application had been interrupted. Disquieting, Malcolm thought, as once Vulcans put their 'mind' to something as important as protecting life and safety; nothing would stop that determined species of beings.

At this point, Archer's usual ability to take the least 'best option' came into play. Hawkins and himself were armed with phase rifles whist Archer and T'Pol had side arms – normally sufficient, but this ship was so damaged as to make 'normal' seem a distant dream. Malcolm would have preferred that one of the more heavily armed of them stick with a lighter armed companion. But not so Archer who immediately directed that Hawkins and he take the starboard side of the ship – now he knew that Archer hopefully thought that T'Pol could direct him through the vessel, but had he even given any thought to where he and the MACO would be going? Probably not. As it was, Malcolm had looked (admittedly some time ago) at a schematic of this very class of Vulcan ship that Section 31 had obtained by covert means. Did Archer know this? Most assuredly not. Which meant while the man thought he could handle the situation; it didn't make Malcolm trust his judgment with any confidence. (Christ, he chastised himself – the captain was 'the captain' – why did he think himself so unsure?)

The part of the ship that Reed and Hawkins entered was severely damaged – though amazingly a brightly lit screen drew their attention and he was able to detect Vulcan blood smeared on the bulkhead. He mentioned it to Hawkins, which served to increase their level of awareness as to the danger of this mission. The examination of the ship was interrupted by a com signal from the other party – most likely the captain. The lieutenant answered it and was informed, perhaps unnecessarily that the Vulcans had become 'violent'. Reed thought for a moment that if an uninvited group of aliens came aboard the Enterprise, he might be violent too. Any confusion as to what exactly Archer meant was shortly eliminated, as whilst entering a section of corridor, the two men were attacked.

It was a very near thing.

OOOOO

Hawkins didn't have a lot of expectations when he entered the Vulcan ship – other than the vessel being adrift and damaged, and that he was going to have to rely on the Starfleet officers to tell him if the damn thing was going to fall apart. Being the lowest ranking body in their group meant that he would have to be smart if he was going to come out of this in one piece as he figured he would be doing the 'grunt work' . . .

To his inexperienced eye, the ship interior where they entered looked badly damaged, and like things had fallen apart through neglect, and maybe blast damage. The area immediately adjacent to the docking port, while barely lit, and cluttered, contained breathable air – the MACO didn't particularly like these kinds of operations in an EV suit – though of course he had trained in the bulky thing. It was damn hard to do any real combat, and more often than not you ended up dead not from any wound but because it got torn. (Somebody had called it 'plastic-wrapped lunch meat', and the word was that it was easier just to bury the whole thing with the person inside. R.I.P. you unlucky bastard.)

Frank kept an eye out for 'surprises' – although most everything on this ship was unfamiliar. From what he knew of Vulcans, this place was really in bad shape – there must be a lot of dead and wounded – no one, even humans, would voluntarily live in such chaos. Suddenly the other members of the group were drawn to a sight of some bright blue substance, which had been partially applied to what would be an outer bulkhead. It was Trellium – that ore which was being mined on the planet where the MACOs had to rescue Archer and the chief engineer. (According to the major, the stuff kept the effects of this region of space from ripping apart ships; it was valuable, and Frank hoped that a supply could be found for the Enterprise . . .)

Captain Archer immediately ordered that he, Hawkins, and the lieutenant to go in one direction while himself and the Vulcan went off in the opposite – to check for survivors. Frank caught a glimpse of the expression on Reed's face as his superior officer ordered this - could tell that it was hard for the Brit not to say something, like 'don't you think that one of us blokes with the RIFLES ought to pair off with those armed with only a phase pistol?! Just a suggestion, mind you.' (Over the months that the mission had been going on – some of the more 'imaginative' MACOs had taken to mimicking the speech of the of the Starfleet crew. While everyone had been lampooned, Reed in particular had been given 'the royal treatment', as well as that geek of a commander, Tucker. For some reason the Major didn't like the Southerner – nothing was said – but unless there was a specific reason for the two of them to be in the same room, they just weren't. On a spaceship the size of the Enterprise – that was damn impressive . . .)

He followed the lieutenant; it seemed like he knew where he was going, not hesitating as they walked down the corridors. Hawkins had never been on an alien ship before, but he didn't think that any of the mess lying around was normal – if anything he suspected that the Vulcans would be positively fanatic about keeping things in order. Suddenly he saw Reed's attention drawn to a brightly lit screen, and checking something on a hand held monitor, the Brit spoke darkly, gesturing at a splotch of green liquid that had dripped down a wall – correction – bulkhead. "Vulcan blood." So it wasn't exactly a surprise when the man answered a beep on his communicator from the captain who then said that the Vulcans had gotten violent, and that they should watch themselves . . .

OOOOO

When Malcolm was a teenager, one of the 'approved' past-times that his father allowed him to 'investigate' was that of researching their common ancestors (Mary Martin Stuart, Malcolm's mother didn't rate quite so high in her husband's opinion). Stuart Reed was probably thinking of his 'illustrious Royal Navy forebears' and the tenuous connection they had with the nobility. Malcolm however, discovered – a personage that rated both as nobility and frankly much more interesting than Royal Navy connections; it seemed that according to several independent accounts, one of his ancestors was descended from (albeit 'on the wrong side of the sheets') – Prince Rupert of the Rhine/Palatine, who had spent a considerable amount of time being a famous pirate in the Caribbean, among other noteworthy 'activities'. (Even had a painting of the man in the National Portrait Gallery – as one commentator stated, 'looked as gentle as a lamb', as if you could be a 'gentle pirate'.)

(At this point one could wonder with justification what this had to do with Malcolm and Corporal Hawkins' investigation of the Vulcan ship – however, along with learning about his heritage, Malcolm, being at an age where everything went into his memory, 'read up' on some of the more interesting aspects of the region – including the topic of 'zombies'. Up to this point in his varied career, the armory and security expert (including his stint in Section 31) had never met someone, aliens included, who even remotely resembled 'a zombie'. He just hadn't. And yet, right in front of him, and savaging attacking himself and Corporal Hawkins were beings that looked like and remarkably acted like Vulcan zombies.)

In light of what occurred later, Malcolm didn't fault himself for being a little disbelieving and ill-remembering the particulars of the attack. One moment he was 'thinking' of the captain's warning – a violent Vulcan could be quite dangerous indeed – the thought of possible 'mental illness' had crossed his mind . . . and effective restraints . . . and the next he was fighting for his life (and that of the corporal, who had been injured during the attack), against these creatures from some Grade B Horror Film so beloved of Commander Tucker. The Vulcans he knew, including sub-Commander T'Pol, were controlled, graceful, measured in their movements. These 'zombies' – and he used a culturally inappropriate term – were decayed, mindless automatons intent on ravaging his body, leaving him very dead (or – and he hadn't thought about it whilst fighting them – possibly as mindless as them. Suicide would not be unwelcome.)

Using the 'stun' setting on the phase rifle had little effect during this close-in combat and it was only with repeated charges that any effect was noted; similar to the problem with the 'Taser' of a couple centuries previously, the pulsed charge whilst painful at close range did not develop 'full effect' until at least at meter distance. Which meant that the metal bars that the creatures were using were quite effective – Hawkins escaped immediate death only by using his MACO-issued 'pain stick' directly against a body. Malcolm meanwhile did not have one of those devices, and although the Englishman was an expert in modern ordinance, oh, his grandfather's old shotgun would have come in handy right now!

Though he was pushing with all his adrenaline-fuelled strength, the pressure against his throat was inexorably increasing, and Malcolm Reed's vision was beginning to 'grey-out' and his heartrate rising, when blessedly the sound of a phase pistol fired from a good distance released the crushing against his neck. When Captain Archer asked if he was 'alright', Reed in his relief would have said 'Yeah' even if he was missing an arm. It was so good to be able to breathe!

OOOOO

Frank Hawkins was focused on the Vulcan who was currently trying to crush Lieutenant Reed's throat. The lieutenant was grasping at the metal bar with little effect. The alien was larger than Reed, and had an advantage – Hawkins tried to get up to help, but as he clawed to his feet, he realized just how badly his arm was hurt and bleeding . . . As a weapon of last resort, his baton had worked, and yet even as the MACO used it, he realized it was not enough. Suddenly the sound of a phase weapon cut the air, and the Vulcan attacking Reed collapsed. Hawkins checked where the discharge had come from – and was gratified to see that Captain Archer had arrived with the Vulcan woman in tow.

The lieutenant started to say something to Archer, Frank wasn't quite sure what – his arm hurt like hell, but he wasn't going to check it until the group was 'safe' – and he decided that getting up and being prepared to defend himself and the others was a very good idea. A very, very good idea as it turned out because the Vulcans that they had just stunned, lurched back to movement, zombie-like, and began to attack again. A good solider knows when to 'get the hell out' – this so-called rescue mission was bust and they needed to regroup someplace safe, like on the shuttle – far away from this ship.

(At this point the MACO was pretty much 'working on automatic', which was why – in hindsight – he switched the setting on his phase rifle to 'kill'. This action did not go un-noticed by the Vulcan in their group. "What are you doing? This is a rescue mission!" she demanded – not calmly nor unemotionally as he had been taught all Vulcans were, but with fury. Dying because of some perceived action he should be taking did not appeal to him at all; using just enough civility as to be obviously insulting, Hawkins stated the facts as he saw them. "With all due respect, "he began – the phrase ingrained, denoting opposition to idiotic superiors – "They don't seem to want our help." Whatever her next demand might have been was stopped, by Archer agreeing with her. 'Goddam 'superior' officers!' he thought. With that action, Hawkins understood that this 'rescue' was likely to be a one-way mission – no wonder the British lieutenant often seemed frustrated with the brass above him. This entire mission to avenge the attack on Earth was one giant 'cluster', and his arm was really starting to HURT . . .)

OOOOO

Getting off this accursed ship sounded like an excellent idea to Reed. It was noticeable that something was terribly wrong with this Vulcan crew, and it didn't take being a medical doctor to see that fact. (Bloody Hell, they even smelled! A rank, foul, musty stench . . . he'd need to scrub a good long time to get it off.) Hopefully, Captain Archer understood that, because given how he'd been acting recently, Malcolm almost expected him to try and reason with these homicidal beings. He'd finally understood that T'Pol and Hawkins had had a disagreement on whether to use the stun or kill setting with the phase weapons. However, the captain insisted on stun – and the armory expert's opinion remained 'skeptical' on the matter – when (and 'if' was probably a better qualifier) they got back in the shuttle.

Suddenly, everything got worse – the Vulcans that Malcolm _knew_ _for a fact as he had personally stunned them_ started staggering to a vertical attitude, and lurching in their direction. (Since he'd read of and seen the recovery periods for different species of beings, this was patently _impossible._) 'No, no, no, no!' Malcolm thought, and quickly checked to see if any more Vulcan biosigns were in the vicinity. A ship this size should have over a hundred crew . . . one twenty . . . one forty perhaps. T'Pol beat him to the punch, by saying 'seven more in that direction . . .'

The woefully inadequate group started to make their way back to the shuttle port; it was only a short distance away, when the Enterprise rescue party saw a couple of Vulcan crew (perhaps females) standing in their path. One noticeably taller than the other, they stood directly between the four of them and the entrance to the shuttle port hatch. Archer – 'true to form' decided to try and reason with the two. Malcolm really wanted to get across to the man – 'fine, sir, you can deal with them as much as you want, but I'm getting off this ship!' As soon as the captain made his desperate plea, the 'creatures' slammed the bulkhead shut; Reed and the captain rushed toward the door in hopes of opening the hatch, but it was solidly shut and the door controls made inoperative. No one was going to be able to get through without permission from the clearly insane Vulcans. The party had to regroup in a more secure area or all would be lost.

'When all seems lost, that's when you show your true mettle' – Malcolm remembered the words that his Grandda' told him as a small child. Archer seemed to be 'flailing around' – expecting rationality where clearly none was present; Corporal Hawkins was injured – bad enough that he was compromised and in pain. T'Pol, who normally Reed would have trusted in the most dire of circumstances, something had happened that made her control fail – judging by how she was reacting. He would have to 'pull them together', to be the glue that held this mission to completion. Oh, and not let either of his senior officers know . . . 'a piece of cake' really . . . and people said he had not much of a sense of humor!

OOOOO

Even in his weakened state, Corporal Hawkins knew that the four of them needed to get into a defensible area if they were to survive. Being in a corridor, open to attack from multiple directions was a very bad idea. He was having to trust that the Vulcan woman T'Pol knew where they should go, if they were to get off this hell-hole alive . . . after all she had served on this ship – she must know exactly where they were and how to get to the shuttle.

They fled up a short ladder to a small machinery room of some kind. He felt dizzy, and was dripping blood down his arm and on the floor. It was getting difficult to keep focused on the 'job at hand' – but he felt absolutely wonderful compared to whatever was apparently going on with T'Pol, and he watched Captain Archer attempt to keep her from coming unglued. The man obviously had some attachment besides the usual concern of a superior for a subordinate; even as Archer tried to contact the Enterprise, he was staring at her. Which might have been fine and dandy for these 'space jockeys'; he wondered, however, if collapsing on the floor might just get some attention from those two . . . wasn't going to beg. MACOs don't beg!

Didn't have to worry about that – the lieutenant grabbed on to him – supported him while insisting that look for medical aid. Reed seemed to know a lot about the layout of the ship and made some suggestions as to where they might go – finally convinced them to go to Sickbay, if not directly to the shuttle so that he could be given some attention for his arm. (Frank did get the impression – even though he felt like shit – that Malcolm Reed, who had a reputation for 'being a cold-hearted bastard' – was getting pissed at the whole situation. Pretending to be the perfect helpful lieutenant, and 'topping from the bottom' these two clueless officers.)

After taking what seemed like a roundabout way – they went up an access tube for a couple of decks – the group came to a corridor directly in front of the Sickbay. Rushing inside (last to enter), Frank, for just a moment, got the impression of an 'enclosed bio-bed' . . . then was body-slammed to the ground. He heard a single shot from what must have been a phase rifle, and the heavy weight on him ceased to struggle and he was able to roll it off. Another Vulcan . . . Reed helped him up, and then helped Archer put the attacker in the bed that he had seen earlier.

They attached restraints to the Vulcan's legs and arms, so that when he woke almost immediately from being stunned, he was unable to move. Archer and T'Pol tried to question the 'zombie' and get some information; Hawkins only thought of this as an after-thought. His immediate attention was taken by the lieutenant finding medical supplies and binding his wound. MACO field uniforms were designed (using special fabric saturated with chemicals delivered by means of micro-tubes) to help stop blood flow when external pressure was applied to an area like an arm. Reed wrapped a rough binding around the area of the jagged cut so at least he wouldn't bleed, and hopefully not get an infection. (Hawkins didn't have a lot of concern about that – if they didn't get off this ship damn quick – an infection was the last of his worries.)

He could hear the captain and T'Pol questioning the captive to find out what happened. Which was why he almost missed a gentle tap on his arm, and looking at the reason saw the lieutenant holding what was clearly a 'stim' shot – small dark-colored piece of plastic that held a dose of a stimulant – approved for use by MACO forces, but not usual Starfleet issue. For whatever reason, Reed was clearly aware of their use – often by lightly wounded personnel in serious situations; he accepted the treatment, letting the shot be applied on his wrist. Frank knew he'd be 'good to go' for several hours, and he thought again that if they didn't get off the Vulcan ship before the drug wore off it wouldn't matter. He gave Reed a tight smile, thinking that later he would ask the man how he knew what was not common knowledge . . .

OOOOO

Malcolm appreciated that T'Pol was able to lead their beleaguered group into a small area where they could at least for a few precious moments have the luxury of relative safety from what appeared to be an entire ship full of deranged Vulcans; unfortunately, his guess as to the size of the crew was not far off – one hundred and forty-seven. Even assuming that some of them had died in the destroyed parts of the craft (and Reed had the disturbing thought that perhaps _they had been lucky_), it still meant that an overwhelming number were roaming the ship. Even on a good day he didn't feel quite that invincible. Captain Archer's attempt to contact the Enterprise failed, and it was brought home to Reed how bloody huge this ship really was – it was another _seven levels_ to the main bridge . . .

(Malcolm keenly missed that he had not carried his usual complement of armaments – though admittedly any stress on the weakened structure of this vessel probably would mean being spaced – not exactly an optimum outcome. He wondered for a brief moment whether some kind of 'gas' might have an effect, and dismissed that notion almost immediately as with the lower oxygen level on Vulcan, they were better able to handle adverse atmospheric stressors. In fact, the only weakness he knew of in Vulcans was their sensitive hearing, and since he didn't have a 'death punk' band available . . . for a brief moment he envisioned these 'zombie Vulcans' fleeing in terror the dulcet sounds of 'Char-brain' . . . things would have to be taken care of 'the old-fashioned way'.)

He had seen that the corporal was injured – blood was dripping down the MACO's left arm from the wound near his shoulder. The captain was also injured – most likely superficially, but it was hard to tell as Archer had been quite stubborn in the past about attending to his own injuries. However this didn't mean that he should ignore the well-being of his subordinates. Hawkins tried to say that he was 'fine'; Malcolm knew that he needed attention even if the MACO uniforms were 'antibacterial' and 'anti-coagulant'. After affirming exactly where the Sickbay was located on the Seleya, Reed was focused on getting to the unit and attending to Hawkins' injury; later, the armory officer realized that this was when he noticed the tension between the captain and T'Pol escalate. Something had gone awry and it wasn't helping the situation one bit . . .

They headed out via the interstitial system aboard the ship; whereas the Enterprise had tight, uncomfortable tween-spaces – those aboard the Vulcan ship were relatively easy to navigate, and soon they exited close to the entrance to the Sickbay. Malcolm entered the area first; he had reasoned that being logical, the crew of the vessel should have come here at some time if they had had any foreknowledge of whatever was ravishing their bodies (and minds). T'Pol and Archer followed, with Hawkins bringing up the rear.

Suddenly there was a movement of someone or something falling down – on top of Hawkins – Reed didn't hesitate and fired his phase rifle, hitting the target – a Vulcan who had leapt upon the MACO. Malcolm helped the man to stand, with his injured arm, he really didn't need any more trauma; he quickly located bandaging material and set to work binding the wound to Hawkins' arm, after helping to secure the Vulcan to the bed in the unit. "Francis," the lieutenant lightly joked, "I didn't think of you as a magnet for Vulcans . . ." "I think I'm more like bait, sir," replied the corporal who understood that Reed knew of the usual method of using his uniform to help with minor injury.

Reed then reached into one of his many pockets that the regular Starfleet uniform was equipped with and brought out a small item. It was quite small, dark in color and was of a size and shape that would attract little attention. Unless of course one knew of its purpose. The small 'item' was a 'stim shot' – so called because it delivered a dose of a stimulant, and would keep a person awake and alert for several hours. Commonly used by the MACOs, it was not usual Starfleet equipment. Malcolm had been told this was to be a rescue mission and although he didn't bring any weaponry other than his phase rifle (and a couple of discreet knives – being of ultimately Scots descent he could say something about that), Reed was determined to have some emergency first aid supplies with him.

Now it did get 'interesting' – T'Pol seemed to be having some kind of emotional crisis, which was very much unlike her. Archer had managed to get from her the existence of the auxiliary control center located on the Engineering Deck, and that hopefully they would be able to contact the Enterprise from there. (Reed had vivid memories of the time when an auxiliary control room was 'cobbled together' in one of the warp cells to save the crew – and the one time 'when he should have had a memory' but didn't – his body having been taken over by an alien entity. Auxiliary control rooms were not a topic he thought of with pleasure, as he associated them with 'hiding from the enemy'.) No help for it, they would have to get there and contact the ship.

OOOOO

Frank felt considerably better after getting 'patched up'; the small party headed through the between-deck in the direction of the engineering deck. This area seemed to be heavily damaged, and their progress was slowed by the Vulcan woman, who seemed to be very tired and 'not well' – he was surprised as he had always heard that Vulcans were stronger and more resilient than humans. The captain was taking the lead, with Reed directly behind him – his eyes glued to the PADD that he held, alert for any biosigns from the Vulcan crew. After all the attacks, it had to be assumed that all the people aboard ship were suffering from the same madness and would want to harm them.

As they made their way, Hawkins tried to offer help to T'Pol who insisted that she didn't need help; he had to keep reminding himself that she, despite her less than robust appearance, was much stronger than he was . . . at one point the group entered a badly damaged section, and Reed mentioned that there were 'two ahead'. Captain Archer told T'Pol and himself to stay back, and the two male Starfleet officers would 'take care of the problem ahead'. They waited for the section ahead to be 'cleared', and Frank took the opportunity to ask T'Pol some questions, after offering her water. He felt somewhat embarrassed but he was truly curious how the crew aboard this ship had become so violent. T'Pol discussed the reasons while drinking the water (which was incidentally enhanced – why have the liquid carried during a mission be only 'plain water'? This was an opportunity to get needed 'refreshment' into one's body.) The 'break' was over 'way too soon', and they received word that the path ahead was cleared . . .

OOOOO

'Fifteen meters,' he had told the captain and sure enough, instead of exiting the tunnel/tube cautiously, Archer charged ahead heedless of his warning. No luck about it; Malcolm had his weapon ready. If Jonathan Archer wanted to act like a 'bloody piece of bait', so be it. The man had gotten into the open space several feet, when two Vulcan men attacked. Reed used his phase rifle to subdue one, whilst Archer grabbed the other and forced him into an enclosed area lined with bars of some kind. Malcolm couldn't get a clear shot, so it was bloody luck that the man had gotten his ire up and succeeded in dominating his attacker by punching him. Must have been a weaker than normal Vulcan because Archer was actually able to subdue him. Reed was almost tempted to mention the fact, but let the matter go as the captain was not keen on taking advice or receive any sort of caution.

They got word to the other two members of their group that it was okay to proceed and together they got to the auxiliary control room, dropping down from above onto a dais situated in an area approximately twenty by twenty feet in dimension. One side had a bank of instruments and control panels built into the outer wall. Malcolm and the corporal immediately secured the room, closing the door at room level and Reed scrambled the locking code. (He didn't even try to disguise the fact that he had some expertise in knowing _how one did this to Vulcan devices._ Apparently didn't matter, Archer was oblivious to the fact. As to his apparent warning about how it wouldn't stop determined homicidal Vulcans . . . the captain took that in stride, also without comment. )

T'Pol then declared that the primary transmitter was inoperable; which might have been unremarkable except that, she proceeded to have an emotional meltdown, which at least for the moment, Captain Archer had been able to circumvent by appealing to the mission goals of helping the crew of the Seleya. Finally the auxiliary transmitter was made operable and they were able to contact the Enterprise; an action which couldn't have come too soon by Reed's estimation, although he doubted that things would be 'fixed' so easily . . . his own temperament was getting frayed by this time. And he could tell that Hawkins was faring little better; this strange emotional 'dance' between the captain and T'Pol had better end soon, else they would all be dead. At least T'Pol gave him the programing instructions for rerouting the secondary circuits for the bulkhead control; perhaps now they would be able to get to the docking port, and leave in the shuttle. Malcolm informed her (and the captain) that he was finished . . .

OOOOO

Frank brought up the rear of the small group – the stim shot had worked as it was intended and he felt better after getting it and his arm patched up. (He knew however, that that was one of the advantages, albeit side effects of a 'stim' – you often felt good, maybe even too good – and had to be careful.) After exiting the tunnel, it was pretty much a straight shot to the auxiliary control room. The lieutenant helped him down from the stage-like area, which they had dropped on to. He wondered if this was a normal way for the crew to access the room. It seemed kind of odd, but then again this was a Vulcan ship, and there could have been almost anything different about it, and it wouldn't have been odd.

Reed and he ran over to the door and they managed to close it by force, pushing the damn thing shut together. It was almost too much. Now Hawkins could see and most importantly feel - that his arm had been injured worse than he realized with a larger amount of blood seeping through. The lieutenant did something to the locking mechanism of the door, and rushed over to Archer, letting him know that the door was temporarily secure. Frank watched as the argument between T'Pol and the captain got worse; apparently whatever it was aboard this ship that made the crew crazy was also affecting the Vulcan woman officer.

But they did get the 'auxiliary transmitter' working, and Hawkins was waiting for instructions about being transported back to the ship; sure losing the shuttlecraft wasn't good, however he had been transported several times before – a couple times back on Earth and even, once in this Expanse. (That had been pretty much a standard operation – both the major and the lieutenant had been 'in' on that one with a group of MACOs rescuing the captain and the chief engineer Tucker. Again he was struck by the fact that Major Hayes and Commander Tucker rarely were in the same space together, and he wondered if the two were at least talking to each other during the present situation. Probably not, but the thought did cross his mind – the scuttlebutt was that they must have known each other before – though there were wildly different ideas on where and why. One of the more plausible ones in Frank's mind was that Tucker wanted to be a MACO once, and he didn't make it through boot camp and Hayes had. They looked to be about the same age.)

Captain Archer though, didn't say anything about 'transporting'; instead he was talking to Commander Tucker about using the other shuttle to get them off the ship, and he was still talking about 'helping the Vulcan crew' – he sent over some scans that he and T'Pol had taken of that Vulcan in the Sickbay to that alien doctor Phlox, which made Frank hope that the injury to his arm wasn't too bad, and that it would be fixed without any of the Doc's live remedies. 'Bug spit' on a wound never did appeal to him.

Hawkins realized that he had let his mind wander a bit when, he noticed that T'Pol had instructed Reed how to bypass the bulkhead controls in case they had to get to the shuttle port on the Vulcan ship. No one had said anything about transporting to the Enterprise, and Commander Tucker had said that the other shuttle had taken a beating in the asteroid field while trying to collect enough Trellium. So instead it looked like the Starfleet officers wanted to get back to the shuttle docked on the Vulcan ship. The lieutenant said that he had aligned the activator circuits as she had asked him; she reached into the machinery and suddenly got a bad shock – bad enough to fling her back into the console.

It was then that she 'lost it'. T'Pol rushed over to where Reed was standing and violently pushed him away from where he was standing as if his physical presence was nothing more than a leaf in the face of a strong wind. Then she examined the work that he had done, and proclaimed that he had done it all wrong. The Brit seemed to take her comments personally despite her obvious irrational behavior. (Later Frank would think about this, but for the moment it put him on edge and he watched what happened next like a hawk . . .)

Say what you will, Hawkins could see how Malcolm Reed became Head of Armory – the man was relentless when it came to understanding computers and machinery, even of alien origin. He proposed disrupting the main power aboard the Vulcan vessel, which would disable the bulkhead controls and allow access to the trapped shuttlecraft. This suggestion further angered T'Pol, who said that that would make the antimatter containment on the ship fail. (Frank thought that this is why they are the officers – this was not a decision he would be comfortable making . . .) However Archer's next comment that it might have to happen was troubling as it had none of the lieutenant's passion, and was met by the Vulcan woman's declaration that Archer hated Vulcans. She pulled her phase pistol and aimed it at the captain . . . Frank's own reaction was both instinctual and with knowledge . . .

OOOOO

A burst of electrical energy emanated from the panel where the Vulcan first officer was touching the equipment; it shocked her and flung her back, however only for a moment. (A very long moment that, Reed would always remember, to be added to other 'long moments' – both good and bad. A hug he received from his Grandda' – looking over the sea whilst at Tintagel's sixth century ruins – his father's rage at learning that he didn't want to be in the Royal Navy – were some of these 'moments' – now to be added causing a shock to someone he admired . . .) She ran over to where he was standing, demanded to know what he had done – and flung him sharply away from the panel. Pulling the bright green components out, she accused him of incompetence in sequencing the secondary bulkhead circuits. He protested (thus adding to a list of times when someone in authority told him to do something in a particular manner, have it 'go bad' and blame the mess on him), although this time – Captain Archer seemed to believe he was not at fault.

His mind immediately switched to _the last option_ – a mental game he had 'played with' since he was a small child. (Malcolm was always thinking of options – in this case how to get to the shuttlecraft – how to release bulkhead doors – how to stay alive. Came from bitter experience.) He told Archer that he could force the systems across the Seleya to malfunction, which would disrupt the bulkhead controls (and unfortunately everything else – including antimatter containment – on a vessel the size of the Vulcan ship it was not centrally located but rather distributed across the infrastructure nodes – thus causing the eventual destruction of the craft.)

Malcolm immediately went to the computer screen – no time to be feigning ignorance - and brought up the specifications on the console. He heard T'Pol protest vehemently that the antimatter containment was too compromised to attempt that! Archer didn't help the situation; answering in his oddly cold way that it might have to be done. (At this Reed had two thoughts run ramping through his mind, but only briefly in light of what happened next. First, that any attempt had been made to consider transporting off this accursed vessel would be futile because Trip said that the equipment was damaged – he would have a few directed words with his friend about 'that', like 'what the bloody hell were you doing!' , and secondly – that a ghost of an idea about something was wrong with Archer reared its ugly head . . .)

All of which fled his mind when T'Pol back away from the two of them and accused Archer (and presumably himself) of wanting to kill Vulcans as they held longtime hatred of her species. Malcolm twisted around in the seat and reacted when he saw T'Pol un-holster her weapon; he noticed that the phase pistol was set on kill, surprisingly as they had earlier had a 'discussion' about leaving the setting on 'stun'. He informed the captain that the weapon was on the deadlier setting. Although he had his phase rifle pointed at her, Malcolm knew that she could fire her weapon at Archer faster than he could disable her; from behind Archer, Reed could see just a bit of a flash of MACO armament, and knew that Hawkins had also aimed his rifle at T'Pol.

Captain Archer in his strangely calm manner spoke to the crazed officer; this was really no time for the American to be acting the hero, and by rights, Malcolm would have just stunned her and be done with it. However the captain madly walked straight up to her and roughly disarmed T'Pol, ordering Hawkins to 'watch her', whilst Malcolm worked on disrupting systems aboard the ship. (This seemed 'mudded' to Reed – what if it was still possible to rescue the Vulcan crew? Phlox had not got back in contact. Who knows what he had discovered?)

Again Archer talked to T'Pol in that oddly dispassionate manner, and used a strange reverse logic – insisting that since he had ordered the weapons to be kept on 'stun' he meant no harm to the Vulcan crew. (The contradictions inherent made Malcolm's head spin – it was very likely that he, himself could be causing the destruction of the Seleya . . . Archer seemed to be splitting his logical outcomes – a dangerous practice in Reed's estimation. How many tyrants (often 'well meaning') had caused great death in the name of 'doing good'? Was it not better to 'call a spade, a spade'? As Tactical Officer and Amory Chief, he would defend the ship and by extension humanity (especially during this mission) against those who would cause harm. Confusion over the ultimate goal was not 'helpful' – they should be restraining or rendering T'Pol harmless – and 'get the hell off this ship!')

At any rate, the captain had got the pistol away from T'Pol, and put Hawkins to guard over her, then got back in contact with the Enterprise. Phlox came back sounding distressed – nothing could be done for the Vulcan crew – the desperately sought Trellium was poisonous to the Vulcan species – T'Pol possibly was treatable, but for that to happen they needed to get back to the Enterprise. As the transmission was cut off mid-sentence, it was evident that the affected crew still maintained enough mental capacity to kill them – Hawkins announced that hexafluorine gas was being pumped into the room in which they had secreted themselves . . . Malcolm set to work on disrupting the systems aboard the Vulcan ship . . .

OOOOO

Frank aimed his rifle at T'Pol, focused on the threat that she was to Captain Archer. Since he had just a couple of hours before – a 'frank talk' with her about Vulcans and their emotions – Hawkins was not surprised as much as he might have expected. T'Pol had warned him about the possibility of her murderous rage; what did concern him was the speed with which this fury happened. As hard as he didn't want to 'jump to conclusions', it meant that in his mind everyone Vulcan on this ship was fucking crazy, and right now she was pointing a phase pistol at Archer.

Archer was talking to T'Pol – Hawkins figured that Reed had aimed his weapon at the woman; from his position by the door he couldn't see past the larger man, but it was a solid assumption that the lieutenant had his rifle pointed on target. Archer spoke some bullshit 'about not wanting to hurt people by keeping their weapons on stun', which was apparently distracting enough that he got within range of T'Pol and disarmed her. He then told Hawkins to 'watch her' – again proving how oblivious to the function of the MACO contingent he really was . . . of course he would be 'watching her' – as well as making damn sure that she wasn't a threat to anyone in the party.

Suddenly they were contacted by the Enterprise, and Phlox gave them bad (or good news depending on how you looked at it). It seemed that while T'Pol's condition might be treatable – the condition of the rest of the Vulcans wasn't. The captain told Lieutenant Reed to keep working on disabling the bulkheads around the shuttle port so that they could leave . . . there had been no word from Commander Tucker about being able to get the other shuttle working, so they were going to have to do this on their own. Frank still wasn't sure why they weren't using the transporter – the man had made some vague statement about it being 'damaged'. He was beginning to believe what Major Hayes supposedly said was true – that these Starfleet nerds couldn't do 'chew gum and walk at the same time'. So Commander Tucker's hot shot engineers couldn't fix the shuttle and the transporter at the same time – they were up 'shit creek' for sure! (Hawkins' arm was really starting to hurt again, and the stim shot was wearing off.)

T'Pol was sitting on the floor being a compliant prisoner when a white vapor began to come out of some vents; Frank pulled out his scanner and realized that it was hexafluorine – a particularly deadly gas when inhaled in any quantity. He grabbed onto the Vulcan woman's arm and yanked her away from the area. She screamed that they wouldn't allow them to destroy the ship. Archer pulled her toward the platform where the group had dropped down on before, and he motioned to the MACO to go first, up away from the auxiliary control room and the deadly vapor. Malcolm Reed was still at the controls, typing furiously to release the bulkheads, when Frank used Archer's upper leg as a boost to get up to the next deck.

As soon as he got situated up on the next level, Hawkins kept watch for any movement – luckily the crew was so focused on getting to the Enterprise 'invaders' through the door on the lower level that they neglected to think in more than one approach. Archer came up next pulling T'Pol along by force, and Reed brought up the rear, then secured the portal. "We need to hurry!" he announced needlessly to the group and took point as he seemed to know in what direction the shuttle port was located. (Frank was just glad that he didn't have to figure out where the damn thing was. He'd caught a snippet of conversation once where Commander Tucker was explaining how the lieutenant never seemed to get lost – and Reed spoke up saying that living in London during his university days meant you better have a good grasp on both geography and memory for street names . . .)

They had entered several more levels driven by the urgent need to 'get the hell off the ship' as some explosions were being to rock the decks – Frank watched as Reed ran at full tilt through the corridors – a couple of times guiding the group around Vulcan biosigns that he had spotted on his PADD. Finally the lieutenant announced that the next level up was the deck that they wanted to be on and he charged up and into the area, followed by Frank, who then aided T'Pol up and Archer brought up the rear. By this time the ship was being rocked by explosions making their progress a lot slower than Hawkins liked; Reed and he ran ahead of Archer and the reluctant T'Pol. The Vulcans kept attacking even though there was evidence of the vessel falling apart around them.

They were almost to their goal of the shuttle port when they entered the last corridor and found a huge fucking hole that extended through at least three decks, and was impossible to get across. So close and yet so far; it was at this point that Frank almost 'lost it'. Panic was not a quality that was encouraged among MACOs. They prided themselves of being 'tough', 'single minded in attaining goals', and 'unflappable', - able to take all that was 'dished out to them'. This however was a great, big, goddamn hole, and Frank took one look at it and said, "Captain!" with a definite sense of panic. (A more snide comment would have been that it was 'above his pay grade' – let the officer deal with it if possible . . .)

Reed saw the problem at almost the same time – and delivered what could have been their epitaph - Frank thought he was just as scared, but he'd die before admitting it. "How were you at the 'long jump'?" (Later Hawkins thought about that comment – which could have stood in for life in general – some people are 'good at the long jump', while others . . . eventually everyone would find themselves faced with 'a jump too long to make'.) Relieve tension with a joke, was that a method taught in 'command school'?

Captain Archer 'brought up the rear' basically dragging T'Pol along – he took one look at the gap that the group would have to traverse and spotted a beam that had fallen down in the explosion. He pushed T'Pol in his direction and shouted to the lieutenant. The two of them hauled the loose girder, and flung it across the gap. Archer then mounted the metal, testing whether it would hold; it did . . . then he went back to T'Pol, and urged her to come with him across the beam.

Hawkins wasn't surprised at what happened next. The Vulcan woman refused, and said that she would kill anyone who touched her. In a way it was 'a saving grace' that she lunged at Archer; it gave him the excuse to stun her and he carried the slight Vulcan over his shoulder, carefully crossing the makeshift bridge over the gaping hole. In the meantime, Hawkins was busy fending off – with Reed equally involved – an advancing group of deranged Vulcans. As soon as Archer with T'Pol got over, the two of them were in position to also get across over the beam. Frank tried to get the lieutenant to go first while he defended the position, but Reed ordered him to "Go!" in no uncertain terms, and he started to cross over – heavy military boots – notwithstanding. (For just a moment he thought of an obstacle course – but failing didn't mean that you fell a good fifty feet or more to your death.) One of the Vulcans leapt and grabbed the beam, pulling at his leg. Frank kicked the attacker, savagely in the face, and he fell down that deep hole. Then he made it to the other side where Archer was pulling unsuccessfully at the freed, but still very heavy door . . .

OOOOO

Malcolm had told the captain that they had roughly fifteen minutes before the Seleya might 'blow'; that was of course, a rough estimate. While he had had access in the past to schematics of various alien vessels, he wasn't a warp engineer by any means. Having what could be considered 'an eidetic-type' of memory didn't mean that you necessarily understood what you were seeing – he was quite capable of destroying machinery during an attempt to use it. (As a small child, household appliances were not safe from curious Malcolm.)

He was also obsessive about doing a job 'properly' – and so as he was pushing the last buttons to release the failsafe mechanism in the Vulcan control room – not only was the air becoming heavily contaminated, and the door being breached, but Archer was yelling at him to hurry. Damn the man, he had to wait to be last – whilst Malcolm appreciated 'leg up' out of the control room, it wasn't totally needed – even if Archer was a head taller than he was.

Reed then took 'point' guiding the group through the corridors and the convoluted way of getting back to the shuttle port. This type of mission was 'part and parcel' of his former profession as an agent for Section Thirty-One; often the getting back was much harder than the getting to a goal. Although usually it didn't involve a vessel falling apart around you – and Malcolm still wasn't assured that they would make it. That was why compartmenting was so important for security work whether overt or covert – if you stopped mid mission to consider what you have done, well, you were pretty much useless. Think about what you were doing before, or after, but not in the middle . . .

As Malcolm popped his head through the access port to the level where the shuttle port was located, massive explosions began to rock the ship. He helped the rest of the group exit the hole – while he didn't know whether Hawkins had been exposed to the 'close proximity shaking' that disruptions in an antimatter flow could cause, but he doubted that either Archer or T'Pol had had that 'pleasure'. (It was a bloody good thing that Trip hadn't made the voyage, else he would have had to listen to howls of anguish from the engineer about the utter waste of a vessel . . .)

There were more Vulcans on this level (naturally) and he and the MACO had to aggressively stun them to keep going. Hawkins ran ahead to clear a path; suddenly Reed heard him called out in a panic, "Captain!" And then Reed saw what had the man worried. A great, bloody, freaking hole extended down like a crater, presumably from an explosion emanating below. It was classic, you could see the blast pattern . . . and totally impossible to cross. Malcolm did know that his mouth would get him in trouble one day, but he just had to say something about 'doing well in the long jump'. (Not as pithy, as 'we who are about to die salute you', but you work with what you have got.) Archer pushed T'Pol toward Hawkins with instructions for him to watch her, and he motioned at and said "Reed", looking at a long structural member that had fallen from the ceiling of the corridor. He picked one end up and indicated that Reed pick up the other end. The American did not struggle as much with the weight as Malcolm did – but then Archer had a good forty-some pounds on his – some of which had to be muscle.

The two men flung it across the gap and the end landed on the other side of the deadly space. The captain got up on the beam, walked along its surface, testing suitability to use as a walkway and was satisfied that it would work. In the meantime, the Vulcans that had been stunned earlier in order for them to get this far, recovered and were beginning to impinge upon their position, Malcolm with the aid of Hawkins laid down suppressing phase rifle action. Archer indicated to T'Pol that they should get across the crater using the beam; she refused, and he was forced to stun her in order to make it possible to get her over the gap.

'Luging her across' like a sack of flour, the man set her down on the other side next to the shut section of corridor bulkhead and proceeded to try and slide the too-heavy hatch up. It wasn't working. Reed and Hawkins were still not crossed over the beam, and were intensely focused on staving off the advancing Vulcans, though Malcolm had got a quick look at Archer's struggle to free the bulkhead. It was time for a decision, though in fairness if asked later the Brit would have not characterized it as such.

He could see that Captain Archer was having trouble unblocking the corridor to the shuttle port; if he didn't get the bloody thing clear, all would be for naught. Someone needed to get over to the other side of the blast area and help him – that 'someone' should be Hawkins . . . first, the man was under his command, albeit temporarily, and Malcolm was loath that anyone he was responsible for, should die. (He sometimes wondered if the Americans were lax on this point – the Brit did know that they were under the impression that he, himself was sanguine on the matter. 'Do you know so little of me?')

Second – the corporal was injured, though at the same time – Malcolm thought that perhaps even so, the Marine was still stronger than his skinny self . . . (Note to self – if we get off this piece of shite, spend more time in the gym . . .) and third, most importantly – Malcolm Reed knew, as a point of honor, that he could shoot better than any Marine! Naval pride compelled him to state that without a doubt and he would stand his ground, and block the way! (We who are about to die salute you!)

He told Hawkins to get across the gap – and it registered in his hearing that the passage was not smooth – some kind of fight had happened – but then he heard the sounds of Hawkins making the other side, and it was time for him to do the same. As he turned around to dash over the narrow escape, Reed knew he needed to drag the makeshift 'bridge' off the far end so that the attacking Vulcans couldn't follow across the crater. (He had no doubt that despite their apparent impaired condition that some of them would be able to make it across; Vulcan resiliency was phenomenal, as well as their strength.)

So he pulled at the girder and barely missed having his end hit him in the head. That did startle him a bit, but he was able to recover, diving under the bulkhead that had been propped open by a convenient grate. After the grate was pulled out, the bulkhead slammed shut and the relieved men plus one unconscious female Vulcan entered their shuttle craft intent on getting as far away from the soon to explode ship as possible.

OOOOO

Frank Hawkins had gotten across the gap after causing the Vulcan who was grasping at his leg to fall; while he wasn't keen on causing the death of anyone, he'd never been particularly worried when someone was actively trying to kill him. Of course it would have been better to avoid the problem in the first place, but if someone was deliberately trying to end his life, so be it. His first thought when getting to the other side was to give Lieutenant Reed some covering fire . . . but then he saw the difficulty that Archer was having getting that shut bulkhead open. If they weren't able to open the damn thing all was for nothing, so he pulled with Archer and they were able to lift the heavy door.

The MACO spotted a heavy metal grate that looked capable of supporting the weight of the door and he pushed it under the open door; it gave enough clearance for the captain to climb through, pull the unconscious T'Pol through, and Hawkins crawled through, just as he saw Reed almost dance away from the hole, while pulling the beam so that it fell down. He could hear the thing crash, slamming against the sides – an errant thought hit him – it could have been one of them that bounced off the jagged edges of the pit . . . Reed slithered through and they pulled the grate, solidly shutting the bulkhead.

Archer picked up T'Pol again, and entered the shuttle through the port. He laid her on the deck, and again took the center pilot's chair – Reed was to the right in the copilot's seat and Hawkins himself took the left position (communications). Frank was anticipating getting away from the rapidly deteriorating Vulcan ship, except that Archer made an upset noise – to which Reed asked what was wrong?

Archer replied that the docking clamps wouldn't release; he kept jerking the shuttle side to side in a desperate maneuver to force the matter. Hawkins wondered if a phase rifle might 'resolve the issue' but that would have meant that either he or Reed would have to stay behind on the dying ship. Crap.

Suddenly, Frank noticed that they were being 'hailed' by the other shuttlecraft. It looked like the problems with the other small vessel were resolved – Archer explained their 'problem' and Commander Tucker fired a pulsed phaser shot into the junction that wouldn't release he clamps. Soon they were up and away, and were just able to escape the area before the Vulcan ship blew up.

Frank had never thought that the sight of the Enterprise looked more appealing . . .

OOOOO

Malcolm sat in the 'right-hand' seat of the shuttle; the captain took the center seat, whilst the corporal was at the communications console. They had put T'Pol on the deck – she was oblivious to the tension of escaping the Seleya, very well too as explosions continued to rock the ship, and it was imperative that they make their escape before all went to hell. . .

Except that Archer made an exasperated noise, and noticing Malcolm's 'What!' expression, explained that the docking clamps wouldn't release. Malcolm was at the point of getting up and going to a locker under the back seat – he'd placed a quantity of 'explosive charges' there as 'a precaution' – when Hawkins announced that the other shuttle was attempting to contact them. Finally something positive was happening. Malcolm had just about decided that the entire mission was an exercise in futility – the debriefing this day was going to be 'not good', and there was really no saving grace – they had survived 'by the skin of their teeth'.

Commander Tucker and Ensign Mayweather had saved their lives . . .

OOOOO

Just as they entered the shuttle bay – T'Pol 'woke up' and was still under the influence of the Trellium compound; she was struggling against Archer who carried her from the shuttle bay, followed closely by Dr. Phlox. As Archer, T'Pol and Phlox left for Sickbay, Reed, Hawkins, Tucker, and Mayweather looked in their direction – each man alone in his thoughts. Hawkins would need his arm attended to – Reed had bruising on his throat – minor compared to the Vulcan woman's torment, and they all thought that this might only be the beginning . . . what else would they find in the Expanse?

OOOOO


End file.
